River Avon |
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The River Avon in Salisbury
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Country | United Kingdom |
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Country within the UK | England |
Counties | Wiltshire, Hampshire, Dorset |
Tributaries | |
- left | Bourne |
- right | Nadder, Ebble |
Source | |
- location | Pewsey, Wiltshire |
Mouth | English Channel |
- location | Mudeford, Dorset |
Length | 96 km (60 mi) |
Coordinates: 51°20′56″N 1°56′53″W / 51.349°N 1.948°W
The River Avon is a river in the south of England. The river rises in the county of Wiltshire and flows through the city of Salisbury and the county of Hampshire before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the county of Dorset.
It is sometimes known as the Salisbury Avon or the Hampshire Avon in order to distinguish it from the various other in England. It is one of the rivers in Britain in which the phenomenon of anchor ice has been observed. The Avon is thought to contain more species of fish than any other river in Britain.
The river's name is a tautology: Avon [Aey-vun] is derived from the Proto-Brythonic word meaning "river", and therefore the river's name means River River.
The Avon begins as two separate rivers. The western Avon rises to the east of Devizes, draining the Vale of Pewsey, and the eastern Avon rises just east of Pewsey adjacent to the Kennet and Avon Canal. These two merge at Upavon, flowing southwards across Salisbury Plain through Durrington, Amesbury and Salisbury. To the south of Salisbury it enters the Hampshire Basin, flowing along the western edge of the New Forest through Fordingbridge and Ringwood, meeting up with the River Stour at Christchurch, to flow into Christchurch Harbour and the English Channel at Mudeford.